Story at a glance
- An endangered monk seal found dead on a rural Hawaiian Island in September was killed by a gunshot to the head.
- Current NOAA estimates show there are fewer than 1,400 hundred monk seals in existence.
- NOAA is encouraging anyone with information regarding the seal’s killing to contact the agency’s law enforcement hotline.
An endangered monk seal found dead on a rural Hawaiian Island in September was killed by a gunshot to the head, authorities said Tuesday.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) officials said in a statement the female Hawaiian monk seal is the third killed on Molokai in 2021. The other two were reportedly killed by blunt force trauma in April.
Several other Hawaiian monk seal carcasses were discovered in 2021. Yet the cause of death for some of them were deemed inconclusive “due to decomposition and other circumstances,” according to the statement.
Current NOAA estimates show there are fewer than 1,400 hundred monk seals in existence, consisting of around 1,100 seals in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands and 300 near the main Hawaiian Islands.
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“Make no mistake folks, these intentional killings are evil, despicable acts perpetrated against an endangered animal in its own natural habitat,” Hawaii’s Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement Chief Jason Redulla, said at a news conference Tuesday, according to The Associated Press (AP). “Those responsible must be held accountable.”
NOAA is encouraging anyone with information regarding the seal’s killing to contact the agency’s law enforcement hotline.
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